Royal Oak, Winchester

The Royal Oak has claims to be the oldest pub in England,I'm sure that's very debatable,what's less debatable is that it's a rather run of the mill tourist pub, a purveyor of meal deals and ordinary beer, Hop Back Summer Lightning aside there was a bland lineup of GK Abbot ,IPA and London's Glory plus Westerham British Bulldog, which turned out to be poorly conditioned as well as bland. Obviously its an old building with a few hidden seating areas here and there but it's all a little to sterile and contrived to convince. Not a pub I would choose to return to.

Interesting pub, playing on its history. Although, it seemed very modern inside. They had Black Sheep Special on - which was a good find and in decent condition. Less could be said about the food. I ordered the Steak - which I wouldn't have given to my dog. It had the consistency of a burger and very fatty. Still, if you don't expect too much, you are not disappointed.

Supposedly "the oldest bar in England", according to the cantilever sign on the High Street indicating the entrance located up a small passageway. However, the semi-modern interior doesn't look that old despite some old timbers being visible (and the notice claiming that the "site" dates back to 1002 is probably more plausible). Various seating areas, but some a bit hidden away. As a Greene King house, IPA, Old Speckled Hen, Old Golden Hen, Abbot and the 'house' Royal Oak (£3.00) were available from the six handpumps along with Summer Lightning as a guest. (NB - Review dates from August 2012.)

For a pub that claims to have 'one of the oldest bars in Britain', I was surprised to find that more emphasis wasn't put on this aspect for the benefit of the tourists who must venture down the narrow alleyway from the main shopping street expecting a history lesson of sorts. The main bar is in fact, quite modern with what looks like new flooring, smart leather seats, multiple slot machines and dismal 'lift music’ playing over the speakers. The room has been opened out with just a couple of pastel shaded pillars breaking the space up. The overall effect was of a rather bland town centre chain pub - the sort which you might find just about anywhere in the country. There are a couple of further rooms downstairs which are certainly a bit more atmospheric thanks to the low beamed ceiling, large brick fireplace and an intriguing section of old wall shielded behind a large sheet of perspex but with nothing by way of signage to explain what we might be looking at. The room smelt very musky and damp and was notably colder than the rest of the pub, but it was worth putting up with this just to get away from the music upstairs. It's a Greene King pub, so we knew what to expect at the bar, although it was a pleasant surprise to find that the IPA, Abbot Ale and Old Speckled Hen were supplemented by St Edmunds and a guest - Wickwar Cooper's Ale. I tried the Wickwar which was a fairly average light bitter. This pub has quite a lot of potential but it seemed to be missing a trick with its formulaic decor and what seems like a lazy approach to attracting custom. Whilst it is probably worth a look as part of an extended crawl, I would suggest that there are several better pubs within a minute or two from here.